Team India played a thriller at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium when they took on Sri Lanka in the first T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday. The contest went down to the wire, where the Men in Blue held their nerves and managed to bag a nail-biting 2-run victory to go 1-0 up against the Islanders.
During the game, India skipper Hardik Pandya gave an injury scare after he copped a blow to his leg while taking the catch of Bhanuka Rajapaksa on the edge of the circle in the 11th over of the game. Though Pandya safely completed the catch but he went down immediately before being taken off the field.
After some time, the Baroda-based cricketer returned to the ground but didn’t complete his quota of four overs. Pandya brought back memories of his horrible injury, which made the fans wonder if the player had tweaked something in a similar region.
However, in the post-match presentation, the ace all-rounder provided an update and said it was nothing but cramps. Pandya gave the reason for the cramps, stating he didn’t sleep well and drank enough water, making his glutes stiff.
“It is just cramps. Now, I have a tendency to scare people, but if I am smiling, then everything is fine. I did not sleep well and did not drink enough water and hence the glutes were stiff,” said Pandya after the game.
Pandya also revealed the mystery behind giving the final over to Axar Patel. Notably, Sri Lanka needed 13 runs off the last over, but Axar held his nerves and only conceded 10 runs as India pulled off a thrilling 2-run victory. Pandya said it was a great way to put the team in difficult situations and learn from them.
“I want to put this team in difficult situations because it will help us in big games (on Axar bowling the last over). Bilaterals we are very good at, and this is how we are going to challenge ourselves,” added Pandya.
